Despite the circumstances, Sirius was in an unusually good mood. He was still confined in his oppressive childhood home while a friend, who was a fellow Order member, was in St. Mungo's, as the wizarding world was slowly disintegrating. But yet, none of that could affect the happiness he was experiencing at the moment. Besides, Arthur was expected to recover and it was only a matter of time before they found the antidote to the snake's venom.

Sirius held on to the idea that Arthur would be joining them shortly to celebrate the holidays and be talking about plugs in no time. Sirius had only known him for a few months now and liked him very much. Any man who could raise younger versions of himself and his best friend was a man he knew he could get along with. Fred and George's humor and care free attitude had to come from somewhere and it certainly wasn't Molly Weasley. But then again, her brothers, Gideon and Fabian, had a fun side. All her children enjoy a good joke, well except Percy, from what everyone has said. It must have been the effects of the war that made Molly Weasley a force to be reckoned with. Losing her brothers back then and now with it happening all over again must be the reason for her fierce stride of protectiveness. Even Remus was more serious now, if that was even possible.

It was times like these that made Sirius miss his best friend. During the first war with all the losses occurring far too often, James and Sirius were still able to have fun and even get other people to have a bit of fun themselves. Every time Sirius looked at Harry, he saw his best friend and it pained him. All during school it had always been the four of them. Sirius, James, Remus and Peter. Everyone in Hogwarts knew they were inseparable. But that wasn't true. He didn't think anything could come between them. Even Lily, the first girl to catch a Maruader's heart, didn't break up the group of best friends. If anything she was included in the group, as if she'd been a Maruader from the beginning. No, it was Voldemort who had come between them. It would have been better if death was the first thing to separate the best friends he had ever known. But no it was the weakness of someone whom he thought would give anything for his friends. Instead Wormtail, led James and Lily to their deaths on a platter to Voldemort. In one fell swoop, Harry lost his parents, his godfather and any chance of a happy childhood. And Wormtail saw to that. He still couldn't believe that Wormtail had hurt Harry again this past summer. Sirius would never have thought Peter capable of anything so cruel. But then again look at some of the jokes they had pulled during their school days. Some little creeps deserved it, like Snivellus but they were nothing compared to what he has done now. Sirius didn't think he was seriously capable of murder up until he came upon the Potter's home in Godric Hollow and saw James' lifeless body. He knew for sure that the one person he wouldn't think twice about killing was Wormtail. How he got passed him those 14 years ago still eludes him because Sirius was always the better wizard. He finally had his chance a year and a half ago, but Harry being the honest and noble person he is, didn't want him and Remus to commit such a crime. He understood his reasons, but he wishes now that he had let them do it. They wouldn't be in this situation now. He wouldn't be locked up in this horrible old house, Voldemort wouldn't be back to full strength and a countless of other horrible events wouldn't have happened.

But then again, without Voldemort having a body, how would he ever be destroyed. Sirius knew it was going to involve Harry. How could it not, with the prophecy and all. Dumbledore had never revealed the contents of it but how could it not describe how and by whom will be able to vanquish the Dark Lord. Sirius was very proud of his godson. He didn't have a happy childhood and never felt the love that he would have had with his parents, but he was still a remarkably good person. Of course that also had to do with who his parents were. The two best people Sirius had ever known. Harry had inherited quite a few traits of his parents and it always shocked Sirius when ever he witnessed one. Whenever he saw Harry around his friends having a good time, he looked exactly like James and it made him feel like he was 15 again. And then a small beautiful redhead would come over and it really was a blast from the past. Ginny didn't have the same features as Lily did, but the hair, personality and attitude were uncannily similar. It was almost exactly like a shadow of his past. He saw how Harry always paid a bit more attention to Ginny, his eyes lingering on her a moment longer than others and the calming effect she had on him. Sirius wondered when Harry would wake up and realize that he would never find another girl like Ginny who was a perfect match for him. He was thick just like his father. Where as James always knew he liked Lily, he just never understood why she didn't like him back. James needed Lily to keep him grounded, just like Ginny does to Harry. Sirius noticed how she was the only one who would tell him how it is and never be afraid of his anger.

It was as Sirius climbed the stairs and overheard the four youngest, that he realized how much of an effect Ginny had on Harry. They had many things in common and Sirius couldn't have asked for someone better for his godson. He knew she liked his godson. He had on occasion during the summer caught her glancing at him but it was more from a conversation that he had overheard that he knew her feelings.

It was just the night before Harry was to arrive at Grimmauld Place that he heard Hermione and Ginny talking in their bedroom. The bedroom door was slightly open and he had just finished cleaning one of the rooms on the same floor.

"What are you doing?" Hermione asked.

"I'm picking out my clothes for tomorrow," replied Ginny.

"Why? You've never picked out your clothes the night before, especially since you know we are just going to be cleaning another room."

"I have too picked out clothes the night before. I just usually don't get preoccupied with it, that's all."

"Sure… This wouldn't have anything to do with the fact that Harry arrives tomorrow, would it?" Hermione asked knowingly.

"Of course not. Isn't a girl allowed to put some thought into her clothes without it being over analyzed?" Ginny said looking away from Hermione.

"I thought you gave up on Harry?" Hermione asked seriously.

"I did but that doesn't mean I can't look nice."

"Why do you have to look nice for a boy you've given up on?"

"I'm not looking nice for him. I'm just looking nice because none of us have looked particularly good lately because we're always cleaning something nasty. And I don't want to offend a friend by not looking like a normal person."

"Ok, Ok. But seriously, how do you feel about Harry?" Hermione asked.

With a sigh Ginny answered, "I'm not hopelessly in love with him anymore. I can actually talk to him and look at him without blushing like a tomato. Don't get me wrong I'll always have a soft spot for Harry, but then again, who doesn't. I just won't let that affect me. I just want to be his friend, even though I know he's going to push us away. I can't possibly imagine what he went through last year but I know the effects of You-Know-Who and I just hope he realizes that I only want… I mean that we're only trying to help him."

"As much as I want to see him tomorrow, I'm almost afraid of his arrival. I just know that he is furious for not getting any information all summer. And boy do I have the scars from Hedwig to prove it."

"Just remember Hermione, don't back down. Just tell him what you know and make him listen to you. He cant get mad at you for that."

"Have you ever met Harry?" Hermione asked incredulously.

"Oh please! Harry does have quite the temper but its nothing that can't be handled. I have six brothers, I think I can handle any temper Harry has. And I know you can. You fight with Ron on a daily basis."

"Ron and Harry are very different. Besides, Ron and I don't fight. We just have slight disagreements. And they are nothing compared to Harry's need for information on what is going on."

"Harry's just a teenaged boy. He's always had people treat him differently because of who he is. The Boy Who Lived. He needs those closest to him to treat him like they would any other teenaged boy. He needs to know that no matter what, that we are there for him."

"I know. I just hope Harry realizes it. Do you know what room we are cleaning tomorrow?" Hermione asked.

After hearing that conversation, Sirius decided to watch Ginny and Harry interact with each other. Even though she said she had given up on Harry, he could tell that she still liked him. He now wondered how long it would take Harry to wise up and see the great girl that was right in front of him. Coming out of that memory he heard Ginny tell Harry that Voldemort never possessed him.

"When he did it to me, I couldn't remember what I'd been doing for hours at a time. I'd find myself somewhere and not now how I got there."

"That dream I had about your dad and the snake, though…"

"Harry, you've had these dreams before," Hermione said. "You had flashes of what Voldemort was up to last year."

"This was different," said Harry. "I was inside that snake. It was like I the snake. What if Voldemort somehow transported me to London?"

"One day," said Hermione, sounding thoroughly exasperated, "you'll read Hogwarts, A History, and perhaps that will remind you that you can't Apparate or Disapparate inside Hogwarts. Even Voldemort couldn't just make you fly out of your dormitory, Harry."

"You didn't leave your bed, mate," said Ron. "I saw you thrashing around in your sleep about a minute before we could wake you up."

Sirius then heard someone get up and start pacing around the room. It was probably Harry, who had so much to deal with and no one to really explain it to him. Even Sirius didn't exactly know why Harry and Voldemort shared this connection. It scared him that he couldn't help Harry. He'd gladly change places with Harry so he wouldn't have to suffer through the pain that the scar gave him and having that insight into Voldemort. It was just another testament to Harry's strength. Any other wizard couldn't have dealt with all this and still come out the caring, strong, powerful young wizard he was.

Sirius walked away singing a Christmas carol, he didn't want to be caught over hearing. A little while later he was walking back down when he saw Ginny come out of the boys' room.

"Hey, Ginny."

"Hey, Sirius," Ginny replied with a smile.

"I just want to say thank you for being patient and understanding with Harry. He needs to keep his friends close."

"I know and I'm happy to do it. I just hope he remembers what I tell him and tries not to dwell on what happened too long."

"It may not seem like it but I know Harry appreciates you helping him. All of you. You are all good friends to each other. It reminds me of James, Remus, P… and I when we were younger." Sirius couldn't bring himself to say that traitor's name. But back then he was he was his best friend and they did have good times together. He just wouldn't let himself forget who he turned into and the pain that he caused people he called friends at one point in his life.

Ginny saw the hesitation and pain flash across his face as he was about to mention Wormtail. "Ron, Hermione and Harry are the best of friends. I don't really hang out with them too much. They all share classes together and I'm the year below." She still felt a little left out at times but she did have her own friends.

Sirius knew what she was getting at. They are the best friends and she is only a friend. "It's good to have friends in the year above you. They went through the same stuff and could help you. Or you could just take all their old assignments," Sirius said with a mischievous glint to his eyes.

Ginny laughed. "Yeah, I could but I can't read Ron's or Harry's work and Hermione would never let me copy. She doesn't give any of her work away. She keeps it all. I think I saw some of her first year papers in her trunk. Something about 'You never know. It's always good to be prepared.' She's gotten even crazier about schoolwork this year, if that's even possible."

Sirius chuckled. "I knew some of those when I was at school. Moony was a bit like that. Not as noticeable though. Lily was like that. How many times did she yell at James and I to stop fooling around and study."

"So I guess you and James were like Harry and Ron, always waiting the last minute to study and having a bossy girl nag you until you did it?" Ginny asked giggling.

"Well I didn't but James did. He did just about anything Lily ever told him to do. But I didn't really need to study that hard, it just came a bit naturally to me and James. But like I said he hung onto every word Lily ever said," Sirius replied reminiscing about the best times of his life.

"What were Harry's parents like?" Ginny asked.

Sirius could tell Ginny was genuinely interested about his friends. But underlying was also the want to know more about Harry. "Well, Harry looks almost exactly James. His got Lily's eyes though. James was all about having a good time. Fred and George remind me of James and me together. James always looked out for his friends and trusted them completely. He and Lily were some of the brightest people in our year, next to me of course. And Lily, well, Lily was like you."

Ginny stared incredulously at this last part. "What do you mean like me?" she asked shyly.

"She had the best red hair in the school for one," he said with a wink. "She was smart, funny, pretty, and adventurous. She didn't take anyone's crap. And she gave just as good as she got. She was a spitfire." Sirius saw a small blush creep onto Ginny's face.

"Thank you," Ginny said sheepishly. She wondered why Sirius said all of this. He couldn't possibly be saying that Harry being like James and me being like Lily, according to him, could possibly end up together. Does he?

It gave Ginny a bit more hope that maybe one day Harry would like her and see her more than just as Ron's little sister or a good friend.

"Don't worry one day he'll come to his senses," Sirius said softly.

Ginny looked up and was speechless. She shook her head and mumbled, "No, we're just friends. Don't know what you're talking about."

Sirius not meaning to embarrass her quickly changed the subject. "Maybe one day you can show me this Bat-Bogey Hex I hear so much about. Maybe I could practice it on Snape," he said laughing. He knew he could never practice anything on Snape, as much as he might want to.

"Ok. We just can't tell Mum. She hates when I use it because I usually get a detention after it. And I also think she feels a bit guilty because she is the one who told me about it when I was little. She said she used to use it on her brothers," Ginny said with the same mischievous twinkle in her eyes that was usually seen in Fred and George. "Goodnight Sirius."

"Goodnight, Ginny." Sirius couldn't have asked for a better family than the Weasley's to care for Harry. He may fight often with Molly, especially about Harry, but he couldn't deny that she cared for him like he was her son. He knew Lily would be grateful and approve of Molly. Lily had the same protective streak as Molly. Shortly after Lily started to date James, she acted like the mother hippogriff towards the Maruaders. It got worse when she was pregnant with Harry. She couldn't wait for Harry to come so she put all her maternal tendencies towards her baby. As he saw Ginny close the door to her room, Sirius heard footsteps behind him. Turning around he saw Remus.

"I know I had to put Ginny in detention for that hex. I only caught her the one time, but I think she was just starting to use it then. Looking back now, she reminds me of Lily even at that moment. It's strange that Ginny and Harry are so much like Lily and James," Remus said thoughtfully.

"I know. When all the kids are together, its like a blast from the past," Sirius said shaking his head. "Harry is just as clueless as James was back then."

"Well the upside is that he isn't making a fool of himself in front of her every day or talking about her nonstop to his friends. There wasn't a day went by that we didn't have to hear about Lily," Remus said with a sad smile.

"And there wasn't a day that we didn't hear Lily yell at James for something or another. Before they got together, they were always arguing. That part of their relationship reminds me of Ron and Hermione."

"Yes they do. I feel bad for Harry having to be around their bickering all the time. How does he stay sane? I don't know how we did it with James and Lily." They both laughed remembering all the memories from their Hogwarts days.

"So, Moony, care for a wager?" Sirius asked with smirk.

Remus raised an eyebrow. "What kind of wager are we talking about here?"

"How about a nice big bottle of Ogden's Finest Firewhiskey? Harry and Ginny get together next year and Ron and Hermione their seventh year," replied Sirius knowingly.

"Ron and Hermione seventh year as well. Harry and Ginny seventh year, after Ron and Hermione," said Remus.

"You better start saving now, Moony. I expect the biggest bottle money can buy," Sirius said laughing.

"We'll just see."

"Yes, we will. Speaking of relationships. Are you and my cousin official yet?" Sirius teased.

Remus too stunned to say anything just stared. Finally, registering what Sirius asked replied, "There is nothing going on between myself and Nymphadora. We had to work together and have become friends. Nothing more than what your rotten mind is clearly thinking."

"Say what you will mate, but I don't have to believe you. Don't worry I'll let my mother know that my half-blood cousin and my best friend, the werewolf, will get her room when they visit after they're married," Sirius said as he walked down the hallway laughing, leaving Remus with his mouth open staring after him.